Problems with Labeling

Why are some foods sold without nutrition information?

Food labels are not always required, as long as no health claims are made. Because it is costly to acquire and disseminate nutritional information, foods produced in limited quantities and/or by small businesses, ready-to-eat foods, or foods packaged for immediate consumption are exempt. In other words, foods sold in vending machines, snack bars, bakeries, restaurants, etc. are not required to have nutritional information. Also, foods that contain only insignificant amounts of nutrients considered important under the law need not have labels.

Clearly, it's quite easy to determine when there's no nutrition information; the big problem is when they only present limited information. As long as the company is small, and the label doesn't say "Nutrition Facts" or make specific health claims based on nutrients claimed to be in the product, it appears that they don't have to follow standard format -- or procedures.

What are problems with non-standard labels?

While not having any nutrition information may be frustrating to the consumer, at least misinformation isn't a factor. Unfortunately, as long as they don't have to follow the usual nutrition label regulations, manufacturers can create their own rules for presenting nutrition information. As a result, if you assume anything about portion size, methods of determining nutrient counts, etc. based on our food label laws, you may well end up wrong.

How do you tell if it's a standard food label?

On any but the smallest packages, there should be a table on the label headed "Nutrition Facts." Small labels may use a paragraph instead to save space, but it should also be headed "Nutrition Facts." If those words aren't there, the label is not in accordance with food label regulations and all bets are off.

Another way to check that the label indeed follows US regulations, is that if it lists fiber, it must indented under the "total carbohydrate" line. In addition, soluble fiber must be included in the calorie count and insoluble fiber may be included -- both at a rate of four calories per gram. The reason this is important is these calories are not bioavailable so that the actual calories are effectively lower.

Look also for footnotes and comments. An increasing number of manufacturers are taking liberties with the nutrient values, although most are careful to calculate the calories correctly. This leads to discrepancies that they often attempt to justify in footnotes or the like.

Food labels outside the US often treat fiber differently. For example, in the EU dietary fiber is not reported with the total carbohydrates but is treated as a separate nutrient. From a US perspective, that means that the fiber was pre-subtracted from the total carbs. Unfortunately, the labels of many imported products are often mistranslated into the US format, in that they do not add the fiber into the "Total Carbohydrate" value when they present nutrition information.

Why is separating out the fiber a problem?

Scientifically, fiber is a carbohydrate -- one that is too complex for humans to digest. So it does belong under the total carbohydrate line. However, nutritionally it does not behave like other carbohydrates and dietary fiber plays such an important role in health that it also makes sense to treat it separately. The bottom line is that while there is no "right" answer, without a consistent method of reporting fiber, consumers have no way of knowing what the information means.

Is there any way to protect ourselves?

Read the ingredients list carefully, see if it makes sense with regard to your diet, check the nutrition label according to the methods listed elsewhere in this FAQ, and don't buy questionable products -- and it wouldn't hurt to let their manufacturers know that they lost sales due to questionable labels.

Next: Nutrition Data Consistency